You put on a life jacket, then a helmet, strap on a pair of water skis, grab the rope handle and take a fast run to go up and over a ski jump platform in the middle of a lake. Can you picture yourself doing that at age 69? How about age 74?

“It's pretty important that you have good balance when you hit the jump, otherwise you'll go upside down." Bud Piercy is not the maintenance guy for this water ski jump, he actually owns the platform and the man-made lake where it's anchored.

Piercy and two friends dredged this lake just south of Yutan so that he and other water ski enthusiasts would have a place to compete. Piercy is 69, the reigning National Overall Water Ski Champion for his age division.

"It's about the fifth or sixth time that I've won it." So many national titles that Piercy doesn't have an exact count, but then again he's been skiing for close to 50 years.

At age 69 he's still at it. He also runs the slalom and trick skis. "It's tough to compete with those guys in Florida because they ski year around and we have such a short season. I still feel like I’m 30 and that's probably what gets me in a lot of trouble."

Mary Jo Pinkerton is 74 years old and ready to take a jump. How does she feel about this? “Great." She’s another water ski veteran who straps on the crash helmet for the thrill of flying through the air.

Seventy-four years old and still athletic and graceful on the landing. "They say knees, trees and freeze. Gotta bend your knees, gotta look out and then you have to freeze, hang on with both hands." Mary Jo says she has no aches and pains.

Sometimes it's actually best to let go. In the old days, Piercy could have pulled this one out, but he knows better now. Two years ago he suffered a serious injury.

Doug Sterba was there to help. "Got him to the boat, he said he was okay. We brought him to the dock and later on they found out he had a broken pelvis."

"I jumped and broke my pelvis and my hip," said Piercy. "I was told that I would probably never ski again and be lucky to walk again. Gotta put your mind to it and build your body back up to where you can do it."

Not only has Bud shown that he can still jump, he's a national champion. He plans to defend his title next year at the age of 70.

"Anybody that wants to learn how to ski just tell ‘em to give me a call and we'll teach 'em how to ski."